The Ultimate Counter
by starja
Summary: Naruto is returning from his training trip, Sakura has been apprenticed to the Hokage, Kakashi has been his normal lazy self, but Sasuke? Sasuke has finally found a way that he can defeat the dobe. The dobe that dared show him up, that DARED to humiliate the last Uchiha! Naruto has his strength, but that will soon become his main weakness. Post-timeskip, No yaoi
1. Homecoming

**I don't own Naruto, any characters, the world. I own nothing. It's a hard life.**

"..." - Normal Speech  
_**"..." - Inner Sakura**_**  
"..." - Bijuu**

* * *

**The Ultimate Counter: Chapter One**

Sasuke smirked as he thought about his new jutsu. It was mainly useless, almost completely in fact, except it was perfect for one person. Soon, he would beat the dobe once and for all. Then, he will prove that nobody can defeat an UCHIHA!

* * *

Naruto leapt from branch to branch with Jiraiya, barely able to contain his excitement. With a shout, he gave an enormous leap and landed directly in front of the huge, familiar gates.

"Finally home! Man it feels good to be back" he exclaimed.

"My thoughts exactly gaki, I think I might just pay a visit to the hot springs and relax a bit..." Jiraiya muttered, a lecherous grin making its way slowly across his face.

"No way Ero-Sennin, you're coming with me to see Baa-chan! You've at least got to stop for a while, you've had three solid years of perving, take a break from that instead!"

"Hey gaki, I've barely been able to do any research dragging your sorry butt all over the elemental nations, you should be grateful that Jiraiya the Gallant even agreed to train you in the first place!"

"Trained me?! Hah! The only way you've helped me train is running away from mobs of women armed with pitchforks! I'd have been better off -"

"Ahem! Do you children need a time out?"

Naruto and Jiraiya stepped back from where they were about to engage in a full on slugging match, only to see the Hokage and Sakura stood glaring impatiently at them.

"Ahhhh... he started it!" Jiraiya yelled, sprinting away while pointing an accusatory finger at Naruto, "Punch him!"

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade shouted, slamming her fist into his head and sending him flying back into Naruto. "You never learn! Come on gaki, you've got plenty of paperwork to be catching up on, considering you've been out of the village for two and a half years". Tsunade beckoned to Naruto and then began walking away towards the Hokage tower, knowing full well that Sakura would make sure he followed.

Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his head as he walked with Sakura towards the centre of the village, not really sure what to say now he was confronted with the girl with whom he had been so madly in love before he left. He had fretted the whole duration of his training trip, wondering, hoping, dreading that she was still the same Sakura that he had left behind.

"So, uhhh, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes Naruto?" Sakura looked at him while smiling brightly, "It's nice having you back, the village already seems a little brighter. It was... odd, you being away for so long"

Naruto paused, not knowing whether he dared guess at the meaning behind those words.

"I was just wondering how you'd been? Ero-Sennin wouldn't let us stay in the same place for more than a few weeks, he said it was too risky considering who was going to be coming after us, so I haven't heard anything from or about the village in so long"

"Oh, I've been great actually! Tsunade-sama took me on as an apprentice! She's a tough taskmaster, but she's taught me so much, I've grown a lot stronger since you've been away. I can only hope you've kept up" Sakura said, winking at Naruto before bounding off across the rooftops. "Now come on, Tsunade-sama doesn't appreciate people being late!"

Naruto jumped onto the nearest roof and began tailing her across the village, both unaware that they were being watched. A pair of dark eyes tracked them across the rooftops towards the Hokage tower, only turning away and leaping back across the rooftops towards the gates once they had arrived at the tower.

* * *

"Did anyone see you?" Sasuke asked the woman in front of him, "You're sure no-one followed you here?"

"I'm sure Sasuke-kun, I would've sensed them if they did!" Karin smiled as she ran a hand down Sasuke's arm, "No-one saw me, heard me, smelled me or sensed me. It's fine"

"Good, then the next stage of our plan is ready to go ahead." Sasuke grabbed a large scroll at his side and hefted it onto his back, "Might as well get this over with, the sooner we do this, the sooner I regain my place in the world, right where I should be. The top."

Sasuke leapt from the cave that he was in, and begin heading towards Konoha at a flat sprint. He made sure to keep his chakra unsuppressed, knowing that they'd find him sooner or later anyway, and he'd rather it be sooner.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade paused mid-sentence to look expectantly at the cat-masked ANBU who had interrupted her as she spoke with the newly-reformed, though still incomplete Team Seven.

"There is a large chakra signature heading this way from the east... It seems to be Sasuke Uchiha"

The room was deathly silent. But, as with any silence with Naruto in it, it was soon broken.

"Baa-chan! I'm going, this can wait!" he yelled, hurtling out of the window and streaming across the rooftops before anyone could think to stop him.

"Damn it gaki! Kakashi, go after him! Sakura, you too! I want him brought back alive, and you're the best people to do it. Take this as an opportunity to showcase my training, don't disappoint me" Tsunade said with a forced smile. Inwardly she groaned while thinking about preparing the hospital. One way or another, someone was going to need it, she was sure.

"Yes Tsunade-same" Sakura replied, before she too leapt from the window and began chasing Naruto towards the east gate, with Kakashi tailing close behind. "**_Cha! Finally, I get to show everyone what I can do, including Sasuke-kun, and when he sees how much I've grown, he'll have no choice but to come back!"_**


	2. Reunion

**I don't own Naruto, any characters, the world. I own nothing. It's a hard life.**

"..." - Normal Speech**  
__****"..." - Inner Sakura****  
"..." - Bijuu**

* * *

**The Ultimate Counter: Chapter Two**

Sakura was pushing herself harder than she could ever remember doing before. The trees were blurring past at an incredible rate, to an observer she was nothing but a pink and black streak in the air, but she was still getting farther and farther behind Naruto. The Uzumaki was flitting between trees almost faster than could be viewed, bursting off of each tree branch so hard there was nothing but splinters to mark his trail.

"Wow, he's clearly been training hard with Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura puffed, trying to remain concentrating so as not to fall from the trees at her rapid pace. "I can't catch him, he's so much faster than he was".

"I agree Sakura, his speed and use of chakra have improved immensely, judging from the trail he's left. He must be using his chakra quite liberally to boost his jumps. Effective, but a drain on anyone's reserves, though I suppose being Naruto, he need not worry" Kakashi replied. To an outsider he seemed his usual lazy self, but to Sakura the concern was clear as day in his one visible eye. "I hope Naruto doesn't do anything too rash".

"He won't, Sasuke-kun will have been training non-stop since he left, he was stronger than Naruto before he left so it stands to reason he'd still be stronger. We need to be there to help Naruto in case anything happens!" Sakura exclaimed, pushing herself even harder.

* * *

In a clearing not too far from the approaching Team Seven, Sasuke stood, looking bored as ever, leaning on his scroll. He straightened as he heard a crashing, and leaned back just in time to avoid a vicious punch from Naruto as he sailed past.

"Sasuke-teme! What are you doing back here?! I thought you'd ran off with that Orochi-pedo!"

"Hn" was Sasuke's only reply, knowing exactly what buttons to push to infuriate his ex-teammate. "Not keeping up with the times dobe? Figures, who'd talk to a loser like you". Sasuke turned away as though to leave, before having to dive aside to avoid a powerful heel-drop that would have most likely knocked him cold, if not caved in his skull outright.

"Come Naruto, show me how you've improved, I want to see just how far behind I've left you"

With a furious roar, Naruto rocketed at Sasuke, aiming to floor him with a straight punch to the face.

"Pathetic, I don't even need my sharingan for you, dobe" Sasuke sneered, catching Naruto's punch and driving his fist upwards into Naruto's arm. Naruto yelled as he felt his arm break, only to laugh as he exploded into smoke. "Shit! Damned clones!" Sasuke exclaimed as he threw himself backwards, perfectly evading a rising uppercut from underground.

"I heard about your fight with Neji, whether I saw it or not, don't think old tricks will work on me"

Naruto growled angrily as he approached Sasuke more cautiously. The clone's memory of that punch had hit him, and Sasuke's surprise that it was a clone was very real. Which meant, Sasuke was really aiming to maim. He couldn't decide whether he was more angry, or disappointed. He had been hoping to knock Sasuke out, bring him back to Konoha and beg Baa-chan to forgive him for leaving. Somehow, by looking at Sasuke's face, he didn't think that was a possibility.

"Looks like we're doing this the hard way then Sasuke", he sighed, crossing his fingers in a familiar sign. "Let's get this over with".

Sasuke simply smirked while unravelling his scroll. A poof of smoke announced the arrival of a small vial of liquid.

Naruto paused, confusion written across his face. "Jeez teme, thought you were smarter than that. For something so small, you don't need such a big scroll!"

For the first time in Naruto's memory, Sasuke laughed. "Oh dobe, I'd forgotten how much of a moron you were". His laugh was becoming something altogether more sinister, and it was beginning to seriously unnerve Naruto.

Sasuke hefted the scroll and once more placed it across his back. "That's not the only thing in the scroll, it's just the only thing I wanted to get out. You can see the rest later if you're lucky".

Sasuke darted towards Naruto, cocking his hand backwards as though to throw the vial. It was clear even to Naruto though that his target was well past him. Alarmed, Naruto turned just in time to see Sakura and Kakashi emerging from the tree-line and guessing at Sasuke's intentions, tried to throw himself in the path of the throw. Just as Sasuke reached Naruto, he feinted the throw, and with his free hand, smashed the concealed vial square into Naruto's face.

Naruto was thrown backwards with a bellow of pain, only to be caught by Kakashi, who used his sole eye to glare at his former student. Sakura landed, gazing over Naruto with a critical eye. Thankfully, the majority of the cuts from the broken glass were already healing. but some of the glass shards had become embedded in his skin, and they would need to be carefully removed before the wounds could be dressed or he could properly heal.

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled, springing to his feet. "You've sunk so low as to use your own team as bait to attack me?!"

"They haven't been my team for a long time dobe, and you know that a ninja uses every opportunity he's given. That's why you'll never be a ninja worth anything. Whether you can make ten clones, or a hundred. It doesn't change the fact that you're just too stupid."

"I'll show you stupid teme! Ten clones, a hundred, how about a thousand? How about two? Maybe that's enough brainpower to force you to acknowledge me! Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, leave the teme to me. Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a multitude of bursts of smoke, a veritable army of Naruto's became visible, all grinning. "How's this then Sasuke? Enough for you?! Let's end this now, then you're coming back with me!"

With a collective shout, the clones launched themselves at Sasuke, who began weaving and bobbing and ducking through the crowd, every swing of his now unsheathed sword signalling the dispelling of several clones, every kick, punch, Katon jutsu, Raiton jutsu, all a demonstration to them both of the difference between them. Eventually the clones fell back, only about fifty remaining, all clustered around the original in a defensive formation.

"Boss, what's wrong?!" One shouted.

"Come on, you've had worse than this"

"Let's show the teme who's boss"

Before long, every clone was yelling encouraging words, and with a wry smile, Naruto forced himself to his feet. There was a large gash going from his left hip to his right shoulder, courtesy of attempting to engage Sasuke from one side while his clones distracted him from the other. Thanks to the sharingan, a largely pointless endeavour. His only point of satisfaction was the heavy breathing coming from Sasuke, and the slight amount of blood trickling down the side of his face from where a stray kunai had nicked him.

"CHARGE!"

With a unified yell, the now diminished army assaulted Sasuke, managing to land a fair few strikes before they too were dispelled, leaving a haggard-looking Sasuke, and two Narutos, who were working feverishly to prepare a rasengan with which to finish the fight.

"Hn, about time. All those clones of yours sure are useful dobe, they do almost all the fighting for you. Shame you rely on them so hard really, it's practically killed you."

"Shut up teme, I'll show -", Naruto was interrupted by a puff of smoke, and then a lingering memory of being hit between the eyes with a shuriken.

"Hah, shows what you know Sasuke, I've finally managed to control the rasengan alone, I just have to use a clone to start it...", Naruto's eyes began to unfocus and refocus, and his whole body began to shake.

"That would be my cue to leave" Sasuke muttered, before shunshining away. Stopping for a breather about a mile away, he prepared to continue fleeing before he heard a blood-curdling scream. A slow smirk worked its way onto his face.


End file.
